In the enchanting summer night

By X. Z. Shao

In the enchanting summer night
when wind is mild and stars are high
and fragrance makes you too drunk to stand, 
then set up and stoke a fire by the beach, my friends,
dance around and burn with the flame,
Invite Dionysus to your camp,
distil wine from plump fruit
pleasant to eyes, difficult to keep.
late in life, dreams will fly in your dotage minds

 

In the long pitch-dark winter night
when you are encompassed by lonesome sights
your loudest scream from your deepest throat cannot penetrate,
then set up and stoke a fire in the forest, my friends,
huddle around it and invent stories,
scare the ghosts away from the haunted place.
Let the bonfire shine on the deepest grove
lurking with beasts, sizzling with snakes,
until the spring rewards your endurance with a wreathe.

          Afternoon, November 13, 2010